The carnival is a collection of like-minded blogs cooperating to share their best stories of interest to the Baby Boomer Generation.

In this week’s carnival, boomer bloggers discuss:

Why gray hair is attractive.

How our relationships with our siblings ebb and flow.

What kind of blueberries are the best.

Why consumers with preexisting conditions need health insurance.

Whether boomers should pin on Pinterest.

The best, worst, and most ridiculous travel stories.

How to avoid problems when buying a home security system.

Baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, are America’s largest age group so far, and a dynamic group they are.

Boomers are leading corporations, serving as governmental officials, heading up non-profits, worrying about retirement, and experiencing layoffs at a higher rate than younger workers. They’re also reinventing themselves in trying economic times, with some looking for their dream jobs to keep them happy in retirement.

At each stage in their lives, boomers have changed things. They’re continuing to make America different as they begin entering into their retirement years.

In addition to The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide, members of the Blogging Boomer Carnival are: The Accidental Locavore, The Midlife Crisis Queen, Sightings From 60, Arabian Tales and Other Amazing Adventures, SoBabyBoomer, and Silver & Grace.

July 29, 2012

Samuel Lawrence Furniture is expanding the recall of Full- and Twin-Size Bordeaux Collection Bed Frames, with about 2,400 being recalled in the United States and 100 in Canada. In June, the firm recalled about 18,400 king- and queen-size beds in the U.S. and 1,250 in Canada.

The firm has received more than 100 reports of headboards or footboards detaching, including one report of a Florida man who injured his foot when a footboard came loose.

This recall includes Bordeaux Collection full- and twin-size sleigh beds with wooden headboards and footboards in a cherry finish.

Each bed also has two matching wooden side rails. "Bordeaux" and a model number are printed on a white label on the back of the headboard and footboard. Model numbers for the recalled beds are 8070-242 and 8070-243 for the full-size and 8070-232 and 8070-233 for the twin-size.

Manufactured in Malaysia, the beds were sold at furniture stores nationwide from August 2009 to April 2012. The cost was $300 to $400.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled beds and contact Samuel Lawrence Furniture to obtain a free repair kit, the company and commission advise.

For additional information, contact Samuel Lawrence Furniture at 888-572-9889 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the company’s website at www.slf-co.com.

Fresh raspberries are wonderful this time of year, but returning two pineapples to Costco wasn’t much fun.

My best consumer experience: Fresh raspberries from my garden

When I returned from Sacramento, I found a lot of raspberries on the vines in my garden. They are wonderful – fresh, sweet, and organic.

I even made a pie.

My worst consumer experience: Rotten pineapples from Costco

After telling a friend I would bring fresh pineapple for a political party we were hosting, I bought two at Costco. I looked through many boxes trying to find the best looking ones.

They were terrible. The bottoms looked brown, and when I cut them open, they didn’t look right or taste good. When I’ve purchased overripe pineapples at Safeway, I could cut the bad parts off and the remaining parts would taste O.K.

The Costco pineapples looked and tasted like they never ripened properly. Then they were in the process of rotting.

I rushed to Safeway, bought two pineapples, and arrived at the party on time.

The next day, I returned the pineapples to Costco. I told the customer service representative that Costco needs to do a better job of providing pineapples for their customers that are fit to eat. Just because it has cheaper prices on many items and sells jumbo packages, doesn’t mean it can sell terrible food.

The man behind me in line said he had also purchased two pineapples, and they were totally rotten. He said he threw them away.

When I went to Costco recently, I looked at the pineapples. They looked the same as the bad ones I purchased – beginning to rot on the bottoms.

July 27, 2012

To prevent children from suffering further harm, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission staff filed an administrative complaint Wednesday against Maxfield & Oberton Holdings alleging that Buckyballs and Buckycubes contain a defect in the design, packaging, warnings, and instructions, which pose a substantial risk of injury to the public.

The commission voted 3 to1 to approve the filing of the complaint, which seeks an order that the firm stops selling Buckyballs and Buckycubes, notifies the public of the defect, and offers consumers a full refund.

In response to a request from commission staff, a number of retailers have voluntarily agreed to stop selling Buckyballs, Buckycubes, and similar products manufactured by other companies.

The staff asked retailers to stop distribution of high-powered, manipulative magnetic products after dozens of young children and teenagers swallowed multiple magnets, which connected inside their gastrointestinal tracts and caused internal injuries requiring surgery.

The online marketplace eBay has also agreed to implement steps to remove listings by sellers for these items.

The commission staff filed the administrative complaint against Maxfield & Oberton after discussions with the company and its representatives failed to result in a voluntary recall plan that commission staff considered to be adequate.

This type of legal action against a company is rare, the commission said in a statement. This is only the second administrative complaint filed by the commission in the past 11 years.

In May 2010, the commission and Maxfield & Oberton announced a cooperative recall of about 175,000 Buckyball high-powered magnets sets, because they were labeled "Ages 13+" and didn’t meet a federal toy standard. The standard requires that such powerful loose magnets not be sold for children younger than 14.

The Buckyballs and Buckycubes sets contain up to 216 powerful rare earth magnets.

At the time of the 2010 recall, Maxfield & Oberton was aware of two reports of children swallowing one or more magnets without injury.

After the recall, commission staff continued to receive reports of children ingesting the product and learned of incidents in which children had suffered injuries when the magnets attracted to each other through the victim's gastrointestinal tract. In later months, staff learned of one dozen surgeries, including numerous surgeries that involved Buckyballs.

In November 2011, CPSC and Maxfield & Oberton worked cooperatively to inform and educate consumers that Buckyballs were intended for adult use only, and although the risk scenarios differ by age group, the danger when multiple rare earth magnets are ingested is the same. However, even after the safety alert, ingestions and injuries continued to occur.

Since 2009, commission staff has learned of more than two dozen ingestion incidents, with at least one dozen involving Buckyballs. Surgery was required in many of incidents.

The commission staff alleges in its complaint that it has concluded that despite the attempts to warn purchasers, warnings and education are ineffective and cannot prevent injuries and incidents with these rare earth magnets.

The commission has received reports of toddlers finding loose magnets left within reach and placing them in their mouths. It can be extremely difficult for a parent to tell if any of the tiny magnets are missing from a set. In some of the reported incidents, toddlers have accessed loose magnets left on a refrigerator and other parts of the home.

Use of the product by tweens and teenagers to mimic piercings of the tongue, lip, or cheek has resulted in incidents where the product is unintentionally inhaled and swallowed. These ingestion incidents occur when children receive it as a gift or gain access to the product in their homes or from friends.

When two or more magnets are swallowed, they can attract to one another through the stomach and intestinal walls, resulting in serious injuries, such as holes in the stomach and intestines, intestinal blockage, blood poisoning, and possibly death.

Medical professionals may not diagnose the need for immediate medical intervention in such cases, resulting in worsening of the injuries.

July 26, 2012

Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced its first public enforcement action with an order requiring Capital One Bank to refund about $140 million to two million customers and pay an additional $25 million penalty.

The bureau identified deceptive marketing tactics used by Capital One’s vendors to pressure or mislead consumers into paying for “add-on products” such as payment protection and credit monitoring when they activated their credit cards.

Consumers with low credit scores or low credit limits were offered these products by Capital One’s call-center vendors when they called to have their new credit cards activated, the bureau said in a statement. As part of the high-pressure tactics Capital One representatives used to sell these add-on products, the bureau reported consumers were:

Misled about the benefits of the products.

Deceived about the nature of the products.

Misled about eligibility.

Misinformed about cost of the products.

Enrolled without their consent.

Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the bureau has the authority to issue consent orders and take action against institutions engaging in unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices.

The bureau also is releasing two consumer advisories. One advisory is to make Capital One customers aware of its action and the other is a general warning to consumers about these types of deceptive practices.

While this action sends a clear signal to the banking industry that the new agency will step in and protect consumers, much more is needed from the Obama administration and Congress on bank regulations.

Bank regulations need to be toughened to prevent another financial meltdown. In addition, the bankers and other “captains of industry” who caused the Great Recession need to be charged and brought to trial.

Consumers have suffered greatly through foreclosures of their homes, loss of their jobs, and reductions in their retirement funds.

July 25, 2012

A few years ago, my sister, a senior, bought a home security system from a door-to-door salesman who knocked on her door.

While the cost of the system was minimal, she pays a monthly charge for it and a medical alarm system.

Baby boomers need to be careful about signing up for these services. They may be buying security systems that cost too much from companies that aren’t reputable.

The Better Business Bureau is warning consumers to be careful when answering the door to traveling alarm system salespeople. Every summer, the BBB receives complaints from homeowners alleging high-pressure sales tactics and promises that were never fulfilled.

“Consumers are often told they must act now,” Ron Mycholuk, Community Consultant for the BBB serving Central and Northern Alberta, said in a statement. “But it’s important to take a little time and do some research before purchasing any product or service.”

While many consumers search out home security companies, summer weather provides businesses the opportunity to go door to door to find their own customers. In addition, some consumers state sales claims never made it into the final contract. Consumers should be aware of their rights before making any purchases.

The BBB offers the following tips for consumers purchasing a security system:

Deal with reputable firms. Do research and check out the company at www.bbb.org.

Know your rights. Consumers have three days to cancel any door-to-door contract. The salesperson must give you two copies of the cancellation form. Additional protections may apply in your state.

Consider the advantages and disadvantages of each system. Ask for the procedures in writing before making a purchase. Consider: (1) Does the monitoring call you or the police first when the alarm goes off? (2) Does the company have a security patrol car they send out? (3) How soon after the alarm sounds will you be notified? (4) What happens if the company can’t reach you? Is the alarm reset? Are the police called? Are your alternate numbers called?

A home security system can keep your home and your loved ones safe. Asking the right questions and doing a research helps consumers get the best security system for their needs.

For more information, see the Federal Trade Commission’s “Knock, Knock. Who’s There? Want to Buy a Home Security System? Beware of Home Alarm Sales Scams.”

Carter reports on what boomer members of the carnival have been blogging about. This week it’s giving up hair dying, traveling with children and grandchildren, shopping at a pop-up supermarket, using Twitter, eating less meat, picking out a cheap place to retire, and taking risks to change your life.

Baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, are America’s largest age group so far, and a dynamic group they are.

Boomers are leading corporations, serving as governmental officials, heading up non-profits, worrying about retirement, and experiencing layoffs at a higher rate than younger workers. They’re also reinventing themselves in trying economic times, with some looking for their dream jobs to keep them happy in retirement.

At each stage in their lives, boomers have changed things. They’re continuing to make America different as they begin entering into their retirement years.

In addition to The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide, members of the Blogging Boomer Carnival are: The Accidental Locavore, The Midlife Crisis Queen, Sightings at 60, Arabian Tales and Other Amazing Adventures, and Silver and Grace.

Luckily, I found some money this week, but my experience with Comcast was awful.

My best consumer experience: Finding money among my receipts

This spring, I’ve been really busy. When I prepared my tax return, I usually go through my receipts in addition to reviewing my check and credit card records. However, I skipped going through my receipts.

Since I had company coming, I was organizing my office. I had two 8 x 10 envelopes of receipts. I debated on whether to divide them up between business and other expenses or just filing them as is.

I decided, despite being rushed to get my house in order, to organize them.

I was ecstatic to find $40 folded up in a receipt. Apparently, I’d put the money with the receipt, then transferred it to my receipt pile without noticing the money.

I happily kept filing. Then I found another $5. Again, I was tickled.

The whole experience of getting my house in order has made me want to keep up with my filing. The $45 was a nice reward.

My worst consumer experience: Customer service with Comcast

My daughter is visiting and wanted me to install wifi. I went to Office Depot and bought a router.

It looked complicated, and we had trouble at her house in Miami installing wifi. So I decided to contact Comcast, my Internet service provider. A big, big mistake.

I paid $5.95 for Comcast’s Signature service to help me. I worked with one customer service representative, Blake. We went at it for an hour, but we were cut off.

Then I called back. I worked with Tom. He was slower than Blake, but I thought he might be able to help me. When he wanted me to access an Internet address, he slowly explained the http:// address indicating the : was a colon. Come on. I’m a journalist. I’ve known what a colon is, as in writing, for years. I spent another hour with him.

He was terrible. At one point, he yelled at me. I was confused about which color cord to plug in, and I wasn’t doing it fast of enough. I had to tell him to stop yelling at me.

We worked on it for another hour. Tom said, at the end of a horrible hour, that the router was defective. He said I should take it back to Office Depot.

Wrong. At my daughter’s suggestion, I called D-Link, the company that makes the router, instead of trying Comcast for a third time.

It worked. The problem was the Firefox browser. It’s my default browser. When I worked with the D-Link representative, I got a blank screen two times.

She said we should try Safari. It worked. My daughter is happily posting photos to Facebook.

I can’t believe the terrible customer service I received from Comcast. I tried to call the Signature number again to complain about the “customer service.” I was cut off again. Unbelievable.

The carnival features information on finding love at 50-plus, enjoying bargains at dollar stores, examining the history of polka dots, banking fraud, cutting down on meat in the diet, and cooking corn on the cob.

Baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, are America’s largest age group so far, and a dynamic group they are.

Boomers are leading corporations, serving as governmental officials, heading up non-profits, worrying about retirement, and experiencing layoffs at a higher rate than younger workers. They’re also reinventing themselves in trying economic times, with some looking for their dream jobs to keep them happy in retirement.

At each stage in their lives, boomers have changed things. They’re continuing to make America different as they begin entering into their retirement years.

In addition to The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide, members of the Blogging Boomer Carnival are: The Accidental Locavore, The Midlife Crisis Queen, Sightings at 60, and Arabian Tales and Other Amazing Adventures.